CEOs of Major Social Media Platforms Testify Before Congress on Child Safety
On Wednesday, the CEOs of prominent social media platforms, including X, Meta, TikTok, Discord, and Snapchat, were called to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee to address concerns related to child safety on their respective platforms.
During the hearing, a group of young protestors made a powerful statement by standing at the back of the room, wearing shirts that read, “I’m worth more than $270.” This referenced recent internal documents revealing that Meta executives evaluated the lifetime value of teens on their platforms at $270 per person.
Senator Marsha Blackburn confronted Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on this revelation, saying, “How could you possibly even have that thought? It is astounding to me.”
Families who have experienced harm due to social media were also present at the hearing. Zuckerberg took a moment to apologize to these families after being prompted by Senator Josh Hawley.
“I’m sorry for everything you have all been through,” Zuckerberg said. “No one should go through the things that your families have suffered and this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer.”
Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel followed suit, issuing a similar apology, specifically addressing families who had lost children due to drugs purchased on the platform.
Senator Ted Cruz further directed questions to Zuckerberg regarding a warning on Instagram related to potential child sexual abuse material. Cruz pointed out that some videos may be flagged for containing child sexual abuse material; however, the app gives user an option to either see resources or to “see results anyway.” Cruz grilled Zuckerberg about this feature, asking why this would be an option in the first place if the app determines content to show child abuse.
Cruz also took time to direct questions toward TikTok CEO Shou Chew, pressuring him on the app’s alleged connection to the Chinese Government. Cruz raised concerns about TikTok’s Chinese counterpart, Douyin, recommending educational videos to children, while TikTok in China had reportedly promoted content involving “self-harm and anti-Israel propaganda.”
It appears that the issue of child safety on social media platforms is a bipartisan issue, receiving passionate attention from both political parties in Congress. But there is still much work that still needs to be done to ensure that child users and their private data are protected online.
